Tuesday, March 03, 2015

It's time once again for the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for the award of the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations!
Here are this weeks' nominees....

The FCC!!

The Noisy Room :We're in the hands of fools and corrupt bureaucrats. Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission held a faux meeting on open Internet rules and access to broadband Internet. Commissioner Ajit Pai made a statement before the FCC vote to take unprecedented control over the internet with a secret plan. Yes, secret. Secret as in no exposure to the public or Congress prior to its enactment. What follows is the transcript of his comments â in echoes of Obamacare, this had to pass before we could know what was in it. Except, they are still keeping it under wraps. It must be very, very bad indeed.

“The Wall Street Journal reports that it was developed through ‘an unusual secretive effort inside the White House.’ Indeed, White House officials, according to the Journal, functioned as a parallel version of the FCC. Their work led to the president’s announcement in November of his plan for internet regulation, a plan which the report says blindsided the FCC and swept aside months of work by Chairman Wheeler toward a compromise. Now, of course, a few insiders were clued in about what was transpiring. Here’s what a leader for the government-funded group Fight for the Future had to say, ‘We’ve been hearing for weeks from our allies in D.C that the only thing that could stop FCC chairman Tom Wheeler from moving ahead with his sham proposal to gut net neutrality was if we could get the president to step in. So we did everything in our power to make that happen. We took the gloves off and played hard, and now we get to celebrate a sweet victory. Congratulations. what the press has called the parallel FCC at the White House opened its door to a plethora of special interest activists. Daily Kos, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future, Free Press, and Public Knowledge, just to name a few. Indeed, even before activists were blocking the chairman’s driveway late last year, some of them had met with executive branch officials.

“But what about the rest of the American people? They certainly couldn’t get White House meetings. They were shut out of the process altogether. They were being played for fools. And the situation didn’t improve once the White House announced President Obama’s plan, and ‘asked’ the FCC to implement it. The document in front of us today differs dramatically from the proposal that the FCC put out for comment last May, and it differs so dramatically that even zealous net neutrality advocates frantically rushed in, in recent days, to make last-minute filings, registering their concerns that the FCC might be going too far. Yet, the American people, to this day, have not been allowed to see President Obama’s plan. It has remained hidden.

“Especially given the unique importance of the internet, Commissioner O’Rielly and I ask for the plan to be released to the public. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune and House of Representatives Chairman did the same. According to a survey last week by a respected democratic polling firm, 79% of the American people favored making the document public. Still, the FCC has insisted on keeping it behind closed doors. We have to pass President Obama’s 317-page plan so the American people can find out what’s in it. This isn’t how the FCC should operate. We should be an independent agency making decisions in a transparent manner based on the law and the facts in the record.

“We shouldn’t be a rubber stamp for political decisions made by the White House. And we should have released this plan to the public, solicited their feedback, incorporated that input into the plan, and then proceeded to a vote. There was no need for us to resolve this matter today. There is no immediate crisis in the internet marketplace that demands immediate action. now. The backers of the president’s plan know this. But they also know that the details of this plan cannot stand up to the light of day. They know that the more the American people learn about it, the less they will like it. That is why this plan was developed behind closed doors at the White House. And that is why the plan has remained hidden from public view.

“These aren’t my only concerns. Even a cursory look at the plan reveals glaring legal plans that are sure to mire the agency in the muck of litigation for a long, long time. but rather than address them today, I will reserve them for my written statement. At the beginning of this proceeding, I quoted Google’s former CEO, who once said, the internet is the first thing that humanity has built, that humanity doesn’t understand. This proceeding makes it abundantly clear that the FCC still doesn’t get it. but the American people clearly do. The proposed government regulation of the internet has awakened a sleeping giant. I’m optimistic we’ll look back on today’s vote as a temporary deviation from the bipartisan consensus that’s served us so well. I don’t know whether this plan will be vacated by a court, reversed by Congress, or overturned by a future commission, But I do believe its days are numbered. For all of those reasons, I dissent.”

Scofflaw Racist 'Attorney Generalissimo' Eric Holder !!

The Independent Sentinel: Eric Holder wants to make it easier to get the white guys in civil rights cases. He is very concerned that he couldn't get a case together against Officer Wilson and George Zimmerman and has called for Congress to lower the standard of proof.

That's pretty alarming. The government is going to go after people whether they are guilty or not?

“There is a better way in which we could have federal involvement in these kinds of matters to allow the federal government to be a better backstop in examining these cases [civil rights cases],” Holder said in an NBC News interview Thursday.

“We do need to change the law. I do think the standard is too high,” Holder said in the interview. “There needs to be a change with regard to the standard of proof.”

The Right Planet: Despite the fact multiple investigations and a grand jury have failed to produce any evidence "racism" played any part in the shooting of Michael Brown by the Ferguson Police Department, AG Eric Holder and his race-obsessed DOJ are hellbent in turning the whole incident into a race crime, i.e. "hate crime" (yeah, huh, imagine that). Now Holder's DOJ is planning to release a report condemning the Ferguson Police of funding their department with "racist traffic stops."

Democrats Boycotting Israei PM Benyamin Netanyahu' s Speech!!

Virginia Right! : I nominate the Democrats who plan to boycott tomorrow's speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US House.

These Democrats, who take every possible opportunity to shun Bibi, are acting like 2 year old children throwing a temper tantrum. And they are, of course, taking their orders from Obama who knows his pro-Iran "behind the curtains" activities will be the topic ot the day.

America has, for the most part, stood with Israel. But this president has, in my opinion, been downright hostile towards Israel.

There is no valid reason to not listen to the man. So the Boycottin' Democrats win my nomination this week.

The Democrat Congressman appeared on the Kelly File to promote the White House’s position that Netanyahu’s visit is a ‘politically tool wielded against our president'. Amazing how the Democrats and their progressive media shills constantly talk about working together but whenever the opportunity arises they whine or refuse to participate.

Just because Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner invited the Prime Minister to speak to Congress without asking the President’s permission, Obama not only refuses to attend, but is sending no representatives from the White House. Netanyahu is a man of courage and strength who understands the issues and exudes leadership, an ally that America has left behind. And his speeches are always worth listening to. Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a speech at AIPAC that was a precursor to his speech to the U.S. Congress.

One must wonder how an American politician, an American Jew, would not only choose to miss this man’s speech but actually help organize a walkout or boycott in support of our President’s childish hurt feelings; a President that is supporting a misguided negotiation with a goose stepping country that hates both America and Israel and is about to go nuclear with America’s help.

Congressman Cohen appeared on Fox with Megan Kelly to defend his boycott and participating in the politicizing of Tuesday’s event, the night before Netanyahu’s speech, but didn’t do a very good sales job of his position. The Jewish Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen said “I love Israel. I’m for Israel. I think Israel is going to be hurt by this speech,” he told Megyn Kelly.

Mike Huckabee told Megyn Kelly that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t giving his speech to Congress to win the election in Israel, and that it may in fact be “very destructive” to his political career. “He’s risking his political life because he values not just the future of Israel, but really, the future of civilization.”;

Sunday, March 01, 2015

Every week on Monday morning , the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher's Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question : What Are Your Impressions From C-PAC?

GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD : Aside from Jeb being a target with all the asides and overt HRC tackles, it was still a disappointment that Sen Paul won his third time win at the Straw Poll. Good news that Gov Walker came in a really strong 2nd. Impressed that GOP has a great bench to pick from with all the Governors on hand like Govs Jindal, Bush, Walker and Christie as well as other serious cats like Ambassador Bolton, Sen Cruz, Sen Rubio and an almost Senator - Fiorina.

Kinda schadenfreudish perhaps, yet I laughed out loud at Gov Christie and the near empty room. Strikes me as a cat who would relish tinkering around the edges without ever going for the jugular.

Totally changed my mind about Dr Carson. His low intensity speech may not be so great on the campaign trail and his professorial monologue was kinda monotonous.

Bookworm Room : I haven't paid the least bit of attention to CPAC. I've never found that it provides useful information. Every year, it supports a Ron or Rand Paul. Everything else.... Meh!

Rhymes With Right : CPAC? I guess I have to be honest and admit that I haven't paid much attention to it. I suppose the one real interesting thing to come out of CPAC for me is the decisive manner in which Paul Walker skunked Ted Cruz (once you take Rand Paul out of consideration -- he, like his father, will never be president). Beyond that, who cares?

Laura Rambeau Lee,Right Reason :Watching bits and pieces of the speeches and interviews at CPAC and the final straw poll vote left me with mixed impressions. One has to wonder how we define a “conservative”. The potential presidential candidates are all Republicans but there are very few who could be called true conservatives.

This is Senator Rand Paul’s third win in as many years, mostly due to his overwhelming support from young voters. While Sen. Paul defines himself as a constitutional conservative, his young supporters rally behind his libertarian leanings on social issues. Senator Paul strategically ducks these issues by deferring to states rights. When interacting with “Paulseys” I find many are open to comprehensive immigration reform and amnesty, legalizing marijuana, and giving convicted felons the right to vote. They advocate for same sex marriage and other issues outside traditional conservative values. They embrace the idea of personal freedom while not fully grasping the personal responsibility that goes along with it.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush came in fifth in the straw poll, and even that poor showing was the result of his campaign resorting to bussing in supporters. Laura Ingraham had a great comment about Jeb being the same as Hillary. She is right, they are both progressives and support comprehensive immigration reform and the federalized Common Core State Standards of education. Bush will never get the vote of true conservatives in the primary, as proven by the straw poll results.

Governor Scott Walker came in a close second to Senator Paul in the straw poll, and continues to impress and increase his chances for a viable presidential campaign as he garners more support and the ability to raise the funds he will need to compete against GOP sweetheart Jeb Bush. As I have said before, he has been tested as governor of Wisconsin and has shown the strength of will and character needed to compete against the Democrats and their complicit media.

The Razor : My impression is that the GOP leadership is happy for the Democrats to choose their nominee for them as witnessed by the writeups in the Washington Post and New York Times. Why are these guys still in power again?

Ask Marion : The who’s who in Conservative Republican and Libertarian politics gathered this past weekend at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference; an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU) and more than 100 other organizations contribute in various capacities.

It is a weekend for potential presidential candidates and others to test the waters with the Conservative and Libertarian Republican base, who often see things a bit differently than the GOP Establishment.

CPAC is a three day event. Day one and day two were filled with speakers, panels and Q&A. The opening as well as the clean-up spots on either day are coveted. This year’s event was opened by Dr. Ben Carson and day one was closed by crowd favorite Governor Sarah Palin, doing a little repair work after the Iowa Freedom Summit. Day two was opened by Newt Gingrich and closed by Governor Mike Pence. The highlight of day three is always the straw poll which was won in 2013, 2014 and again in 2015 by Libertarian leaning Senator Rand Paul, son of Libertarian and Tea Party favorite, Representative Ron Paul. Scott Walker came in 2nd and Ted Cruz followed in 3rd place. This is Rand Paul’s crowd; much due to the large number of young people and Libertarians who attend. Plus, Rand has always spoken about widening the Republican tent and CPAC made an attempt at doing that this year.

It is far too early for CPAC or any event to make much difference for the primaries or the 2016 Election, but it is a good practice ground for potential 2016 Republican Presidential Candidates.

I was impressed with Sarah Palin. She gave a very un-Palin like speech; eloquent, heart-felt, and with energy. Sarah’s speech told me she is running, Palin2016. And I believe she can win if conservatives have the guts to stand-up and fight for what and who they believe in, instead of bending to the media brainwashing of the past 7-years! Many CPAC attendees did not vote for Palin in the straw poll because they are not sure she will actually run and because they are afraid of the possible effects of media damage. I was also impressed with Scott Walker, who is the conservative favorite at the moment. I always love Ted Cruz’s honesty and courage of conviction. And I think people need to take a good hard look at Rand Paul after a third consecutive CPAC win. I also always like to hear Donald Trump’s input from the perspective of all his connections around the world.

Neither Chris Christie nor Jeb Bush sold me on their sincerity or that they have embraced the conservative values that America needs to turn our country around. And per the website Gateway Pundit, it was confirmed that Jeb Bush Bussed in Supporters to CPAC 2015. Let the Bush-Clinton games begin. Laura Ingraham said Jeb and Hillary Can Run On The Same Ticket and most people in the know would say that Hillary and Obama are two sides of the same coin. So if you want change… neither Jeb nor Hillary are what you are looking for.

The Republicans have a deep bench of potential presidential candidates for 2016. The Democrats have yesterday’s politician, Hillary Clinton, and possibly Elizabeth Warren. Let us all hope for America’s sake that the final 2016 candidates will not be Jeb Bush vs. Hillary Clinton. Americans deserve better. They deserve new ideas, new political blood and a choice.

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Friday, February 27, 2015

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week's Watcher's Council match up.

"Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd,
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd
From wandering on a foreign strand!
If such there breathe, go, mark him well;
For him no Minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim;
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung. " -Sir Walter Scott

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory. - General George S. Patton

"I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside. - Sir Winston Churchill

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani created a press-fueled tempest in a teapot when he raised those issues at a private dinner. As you know, only Democrats and Leftists are entitled to private conversations and secrecy even the Mafia would envy. And of course, to the freedom to express their opinions no matter how bat sh*t crazy they are. Rudy Giuliani obviously doesn't qualify for that kind of protection.

Of course the press leaped on this. The current administration and its minions are free to refer to 'right wing Tea Partiers' as terrorists and to deride a serving US General commanding a combat operation as 'General Betray Us' in the New York Times, but again, the rule for Democrats and the Left is that you may never question their patriotism under any circumstances, no matter what they say or do.

Having pretty much struck out trying to smear GOP front runner Governor Scott Walker for not undergoing four years or more of Leftist indoctrination at someplace like Harvard, Yale, Columbia or Princeton, the Obama media decided to grab at another straw and make a point of asking Governor Walker if he thought this president was a Christian.

His quite sensible reply was that he didn't know, and as Byron York pointed out, a fair amount of Americans don't know either. I suppose it all depends on whether you consider Reverend Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church with its radical politics and its anti-Semitic and racialist overtones 'Christian.' Or whether you're confused about a president who defends Islam and Islamists at every turn while dissing Christianity and standing by and doing nothing while Christians are being ethnically cleansed from the Middle East by those peaceful Islamists.

But at any rate, the only way to know for sure would be to look inside this president's head and heart, and Walker was astute in simply saying he wasn't going to attempt that.

Now, does this president love America? Again, like the question about Christianity, it all depends on what your definition of loving America is.

In his memoir about his time as Secretary of Defense in the Bush and Obama Administrations, Robert Gates chronicled his struggle to contain his rage as former Democrat Senators and 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden chuckled to Gates about how their efforts during the second Bush administration to sabotage America's war effort in Iraq and the Surge in particular while our troops were under fire were 'hah hah,just politics, ho ho.' As Gates related, these efforts along with their calculated attempts to insult and emasculate its commander General Petraeus literally cost American lives.

Now again, some people are going to say 'what difference does it make?' Others would be outraged at this and a lot of other things that have happened in this administration.

So you see, it all depends on your point of view.

But walk with me a minute.

Let's say,just for giggles, we elected a president who actually didn't love the country, but whose agenda could more accurately be described in one word - payback.

Steyn exercises his usual mastery at getting to the heart of the matter, in this case the Obama Administration's craven response to violent, radical Islamism uhhh, 'violent extremism' that dares not speak its name. A must read.

Here are this week’s full results. Only the Right Planet was unable to vote this week, but was not subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty for not voting:

Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Mister Chambers – Onward To Defeat submitted by The Watcher

See you next week!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

It’s time to present this week's statuette of shame, The Golden Weasel!!

Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week's nominees were all truly slime-worthy and disgusting,but in the end the overwhelming winner was....the envelope please..

The Independent Sentinel : For me, Marie Harf has a slight edge over Eric Holder who doesn't know why we have to call radical Islam by its name. She thinks the solution to ISIS is jobs!

During an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said: "We can't kill our way out of this war...whether it's more opportunities for jobs..what makes these 17-year old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business."

We're still killing them but they need job opportunities, she assured Chris Matthews.

Since they don't know what this "kind of ideology this is" in the White House, this solution isn't unexpected.

Maybe we can open up an ISIS employment agency at the White House or we could give ISIS jobs as border agents.

Yes, it's Marie Harf who took the honors this week. Straight outta college and into the Obama Campaign, she's been a particularly loyal soldat, she has, and last week's set to proved it.

There she was, saying that we couldn't kill or way to victory, that all IS needs are job opportunities, and that all the Islamist terrorist outfits in the world are somehow absolved by Joseph Kony and the Lord's Army in Uganda, a supposed 'Christian' terrorist outfit. Why,she even wrote her college thesis on the awful way all those wack job Right Wingers and Evangelicals support Israel and how bad it is for U.S.foreign policy.

In other words, mirroring exactly what Barack Hussein Obama believes.

"Hey, I've got a Masters, I wear glasses and I'm smarter than all of you dammit ! That's why I'm Deputy State Department deputy spokeswoman!"

Ah, but all that being down for the struggle just wasn't enough.

When her supervisor, State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki moves to the White House (appropriately on April Fool's Day) to serve as the next White House Communications Director, you'd think Marie Harf would get her reward for all that sucking up ( or whatever direction it was) and get promoted to Psaki's old job. Alas, it appears not. Sigh. It's one thing to lie and dissemble as part of your daily duties, but to not even get a proper reward for it? How dare President Obama deny us all that material! I'm proud to present this Weasel to Ms.Harf, and I certainly hope it starts the ball rolling towards her well earned promotion.

No more war on women!

Well, there it is!

Check back next Tuesday to see who next week's nominees for Weasel of the Week are!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum, and remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

The Student Government Association (SGA) of the University of Georgia
on Tuesday passed the first college resolution this year calling for
the school to invest more in its relations with Israel. The resolution
was sponsored and composed by the local chapter of activist group
Students Supporting Israel and is the third such resolution ever to be
passed.

In the resolution, the SGA, which represents over 35,000 students in
Georgia, supports the expansion of study abroad opportunities in Israel
for both undergraduate and graduate students across all fields of study.
The text asserts that “academic freedom and collaboration are crucial
to the pursuit of knowledge,” but that the university currently offers
“very limited options” for study abroad in the Middle East.

The resolution calls Israel “one of the most stable countries in the
Middle East, and the country with the highest ratings in freedom, human
rights, and democracy in the region.” It also argues that the Jewish
state is a “global leader” in science and technology research,
agricultural development and practices in sustainability.

The full resolution's available at the link. And according to my source, it stands a pretty good chance of being adopted by the administration. Sanity reveals itself.

The law also requires any group claiming to represent Austrian Muslims to register and to use a standardized German translation of the Koran (Yes,Mr.President, they speak German in Austria, not 'Austrian) :

The law met with little opposition from the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population, was backed by Austria's Catholic bishops, and was grudgingly accepted by the main Muslim organization. But it upset Turkey's state religious establishment.

"We want an Islam of the Austrian kind, and not one that is dominated by other countries," said Sebastian Kurz, the 28-year-old conservative foreign minister - formally the minister for foreign affairs and integration - who is easily Austria's most popular politician. [...]

Austria's biggest Islamic organization, IGGiO, accepted the law, but its youth arm opposed it, as did the Turkish-financed Turkish-Islamic Union in Austria (ATIB), which runs many mosques and has vowed to challenge the bill in the Constitutional Court.

Many of Austria's Muslims are Turkish migratory workers.

The new law also guarantees Islamic imams being allowed attend Muslims in hospitals in hospitals and be chaplains in the army, and protects Muslims' rights to eat and produce Halal food.

Just for the record, banning foreign funds going to religious groups in America and having Muslim groups register in accordance with the Smith Act so that their membership, literature and sources of funds are vetted and available for government scrutiny is something I've championed for some time. And admittedly, my target for this would be Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood groups, but to make it fair the ban on foreign funds would have to be extended to all such religious groups.

Hopefully, this is the start of a trend of sorely needed bit of sanity. Islam is simply not like other religions, and Islamists in particular need tobe watched closely and defanged.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won't be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning

Simple, no?

It's a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani created a press-fueled tempest in a teapot when he raised those issues at a private dinner. As you know, only Democrats and Leftists are entitled to private conversations and secrecy even the Mafia would envy. And of course, to the freedom to express their opinions no matter how bat sh*t crazy they are. Rudy Giuliani obviously doesn't qualify for that kind of protection.

Of course the press leaped on this. The current administration and its minions are free to refer to 'right wing Tea Partiers' as terrorists and to deride a serving US General commanding a combat operation as 'General Betray Us' in the New York Times, but again, the rule for Democrats and the Left is that you may never question their patriotism under any circumstances, no matter what they say or do.

Having pretty much struck out trying to smear GOP front runner Governor Scott Walker for not undergoing four years or more of Leftist indoctrination at someplace like Harvard, Yale, Columbia or Princeton, the Obama media decided to grab at another straw and make a point of asking Governor Walker if he thought this president was a Christian.

His quite sensible reply was that he didn't know, and as Byron York pointed out, a fair amount of Americans don't know either. I suppose it all depends on whether you consider Reverend Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church with its radical politics and its anti-Semitic and racialist overtones 'Christian.' Or whether you're confused about a president who defends Islam and Islamists at every turn while dissing Christianity and standing by and doing nothing while Christians are being ethnically cleansed from the Middle East by those peaceful Islamists.

But at any rate, the only way to know for sure would be to look inside this president's head and heart, and Walker was astute in simply saying he wasn't going to attempt that.

Now, does this president love America? Again, like the question about Christianity, it all depends on what your definition of loving America is.

In his memoir about his time as Secretary of Defense in the Bush and Obama Administrations, Robert Gates chronicled his struggle to contain his rage as former Democrat Senators and 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden chuckled to Gates about how their efforts during the second Bush administration to sabotage America's war effort in Iraq and the Surge in particular while our troops were under fire were 'hah hah,just politics, ho ho.' As Gates related, these efforts along with their calculated attempts to insult and emasculate its commander General Petraeus literally cost American lives.

Now again, some people are going to say 'what difference does it make?' Others would be outraged at this and a lot of other things that have happened in this administration.

So you see, it all depends on your point of view.

But walk with me a minute.

Let's say,just for giggles, we elected a president who actually didn't love the country, but whose agenda could more accurately be described in one word - payback.

How would such a president behave?

Would he openly openly defy the Constitution, use government bureaus like the IRS and the EPA to attack people he perceived as his political enemies and devote significant resources to spying indiscriminately on his fellow citizens to a greater degree than any other president in history? Would he violate the separation of powers doctrine with dictatorial 'executive orders' and make a constant show of his contempt for congress?

Would he use rhetoric and take actions deliberately designed to foster division and friction between Americans, especially racial enmity? Would he use his appointees to try and control education and opposing voices in the press?

Would he and the people he surrounded himself with allow our borders to remain unguarded for political reasons, even though that's a severe national security risk?

Would he run up huge debts? Would he waste billions of taxpayer dollars on a totally unnecessary war that provided vast stockpiles of arms to our enemies? Or on pushing through a dysfunctional 'healthcare' program that actually made healthcare less affordable and led to a loss of jobs and cuts in full time jobs and income for many Americans? Would he take steps resulting in higher costs in food prices, fuel and utilities for the average American?

Would he severely downsize our military and our anti-missile defenses? Would he release dangerous terrorist from a secure facility, even though the evidence was clear that a number of these people who'd been freed went right back to terrorist activities? Would he openly protect anti-American groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and its various front groups here in America and abroad?

Would he markedly and openly alienate traditional allies of America while attempting to appease countries that openly declare themselves our outright enemies?

In short, if, say, President Barack Obama didn't care all that much for the America he was elected to lead, if he thought that there was no such thing as 'American exceptionalism', if he thought America needed to be somehow punished for what all his closest associates for decades have told him are America's sins....

What exactly would he be doing differently? And just to add to the mix, it's worth noting President Obama had a model for making America bankrupt, sharia respecting and virtually defenseless.

Again, this all very much depends on what your definition of what loving America is. So I'm sure all of you can answer that question for yourselves, each in his or her own way.

It's time once again for the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for the award of the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations!

The Independent Sentinel : For me, Marie Harf has a slight edge over Eric Holder who doesn't know why we have to call radical Islam by its name. She thinks the solution to ISIS is jobs!

During an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said: "We can't kill our way out of this war...whether it's more opportunities for jobs..what makes these 17-year old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business."

We're still killing them but they need job opportunities, she assured Chris Matthews.

Since they don't know what this "kind of ideology this is" in the White House, this solution isn't unexpected.

Maybe we can open up an ISIS employment agency at the White House or we could give ISIS jobs as border agents.

Do these talking heads really and seriously believe this crap? If
American women are stupid enough to run into the arms of ISIS fighters
because of kittens and Nutella, then they deserve whatever they get and
believe me, it won't be romance. It will be rape, slavery, poverty and
probably death. That CNN would be moronic enough to air something as
absurd as this, just proves how pathetic and useless CNN is as a media
outlet. The world now sees America as one big joke; a land full of weak
idiots. War can't be far off, trust me.

No matter how Obama and his sycophant media try to paint the Islamic
State as 'normal,' only those who are the dullest of dullards would not
laugh at this. ISIS is not like America - you won't live as you do now
there. They are nomadic, barbaric and brutal. Kittens and Nutella are
about as far away from radicalizing youth as you can get. Try imams at
any mosque instead. Any mother who believes this horse manure should
have her head examined, and I mean that. The Islamic State's idea of
'fun' is cutting off heads and crucifying people, with a human barbecue
in a cage for dessert. They have children watch this. They teach them to
behead people and then give them the heads to play soccer with. I can't
imagine any girl or woman being seduced by ISIS. Maybe they are just
that desperate for a real man, but you won't find any there. Just
cowardly psychopaths who also like raping women and children for fun and
profit.

'Republican' Obama Abetters Lindsay Graham and John McCain

JoshuaPundit : Two weasels with hearts that beat as one with a collective IQ of 50 except when it comes to low animal cunning, They're constantly involved in selling out to President Obama's agenda. Their latest caper involves leading the charge in the Senate to stop the House from defunding the parts of the Department of Homeland Security that specifically deal with President Obama's unconstitutional amnesty for illegal aliens.

Graham's weasel line is that he wants to 'get behind' the Texas judge who issued an injunction (I hesitate to speculate on what that might mean) whose decision could be appealed and overturned at anytime by the right Obama-appointed judge.

G-d forbid these two and their sell out cronies should ever act like senators and abide by their oaths to defend and protect the Constitution. Sickening.

There were some amazing movies made this past year... but as usual, the liberals in Hollywood seemed to miss the mark at the Oscars.

American Sniper made as much at the box office as the other 7 Best Picture nominees for the 87th Academy Awards combined and the Clint Eastwood (who was not nominated) directed film that had received 8 nominations only took home one Oscar. The Alzheimer’s film Still Alice was not even nominated for best picture, although Julianne Moore won the Best Actress Oscar. And Anjolina Jolie’s directed film, Unbroken, was ignored during this entire award season.

“In the end”, said Best Picture presenter Sean Penn “it’s not about box office or politics… it’s about the movies themselves”. Perhaps he should have read the anonymous Oscar ballots published in The Hollywood Reporter… nearly all were based on anything but merit. But that is liberal Hollywood and the Oscars or as Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris joked “the dependent spirit awards”.

The evening was filled with the promotion of endless personal and liberal causes as the winners and presenters took the opportunity to push or comment on their personal favorites. But even with that, the evening seemed to backfire on them with Senn Penn’s joke while presenting the Best Picture award to his friend and the ‘of Mexican decent’ director director Alejandro González Iñárritu of Birdman. Penn’s ‘Green Card’ joke went viral; after all there is no room for humor in America these days unless it is focused on conservatives. Some even went as far as commenting that Penn’s remarks ruined the Oscars… When someone as liberal as Sean Penn is accused of racism after making a joke, you know that things are completely out of control.

Well, there it is. What a despicable group of Weasels...ANY OF THEM COULD WIN! Check back Thursday to see which Weasel walks off with the statuette of shame!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum.

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Monday, February 23, 2015

An American jury ordered the Palestine Liberation Organization and The Palestinian Authority as co-defendants to pay $218 million in damages for PA and PLO funding and abetting terrorist attacks in Jerusalem that killed and gravely injured American citizens.

The trial, which took place in federal court in Manhattan found in favor of 10 American families suing over six attacks attributed to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (Fatah) and Hamas. The award might be tripled under the US Anti-Terrorism Act:
"Now the PLO and the PA know there is a price for supporting terrorism," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in an interview after the verdict. [...]

Victims and their families had requested more than $350 million, or over $1 billion after tripling, over shootings and bombings from 2002 to 2004 that killed 33 people and injured over 450.

In closing arguments, plaintiff attorney Kent Yalowitz had urged the Manhattan jury to order the PLO and Palestinian Authority to pay $350 million for providing material support to terrorists involved in six bombings and shootings from 2002 to 2004.

No amount could make up for the human toll, he said. "But if the only thing you can give them is money, then money has to stand in as compensation for the unspeakable loss," he added.

The PLO's lawyers, of course, stated that their clients wouldn't even hurt a Jewish bunny rabbit, and that these 'radicals' (whom the PLO is paying salaries to,using as heroic role models, lionizing in their mosques, schools and media and naming public buildings after) did what they did for their own reasons.

They will of course appeal, but this is still a landmark verdict. Hopefully these damages could be collected by going after the $2 billion Palestine Investment Fund(PIF) Fatah's slush fund created using stolen donor funds, the personal assets of the PLO and PA official involved or subtracted from any aid given to 'Palestine.'

Throughout the trial, US District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan largely denied bids by the Palestinian Authority and the PLO to dismiss the long-running lawsuit. At a court hearing in December, Daniels also reaffirmed his decision in 2008 finding that his court had jurisdiction over claims against the Palestinian Authority and PLO despite changes in law at the appellate level.

The Sokolow family, the lead plaintiff in the trial, testified three weeks ago; a January 2002 bombing injured Jamie Sokolow, her sister Lauren, her mother Rena and her father Mark, all of whom testified.

Adding some unintentional comedy to the proceedings was the despicable Hannan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's executive committee. According to her testimony - wait for it - Yasser Arafat worked very hard with US and Israeli officials to combat terrorism.

I'm sure the judge had to bang his gavel to restore order after the bitter laughter that undoubtedly broke out after that disgraceful lie.

Kol Hakavod to Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Kent Yalowitz and the rest of their team whom won an important victory for human decency and justice today.

Every week on Monday morning , the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher's Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week's question:Should Racially Gerrymandered Districts be Eliminated By Law?

Laura Rambeau Lee,Right Reason : Throughout the 20th century racially gerrymandered districts seemed to be a “fair” practice allowing minority voices to be recognized and counted in elections. Today districts are not so much racially gerrymandered as they are being drawn along party lines. It is no surprise that districts including predominantly African-American or Hispanic voters can be counted on to vote for the Democratic party candidate. We no longer need to draw districts along majority-minority lines. Racially gerrymandered districts should be eliminated.Ask Marion :Racially motivated gerrymandering should be eliminated. There are no positive benefits from partisan gerrymandering. Districting should be delegated to a nonpartisan commission in each state or by programming a computer that will create districts of equal population that are geometrically compact.

JoshuaPundit : In some ways, this should be a Tenth Amendment Issue. In theory, the feds shouldn't be telling the states how to construct their voting districts, as long as there are no federal issues, such as deliberate obstruction to citizens exercising their voting rights.

However, what's happened lately is that the Feds have stepped into this with both hands and feet, deliberately obstructing the active duty military vote, fighting legitimate attempts by the states to enact reasonable voter ID laws, refusing to investigate obvious voter fraud for partisan or even racial reasons and even refusing to prosecute blatant voter intimidation, again on a partisan and racial basis.

The current system of racially gerrymandered districts is practiced exclusively by one party, and largely discriminates against whites and Asians. Certainly if whites demanded specially gerrymandered districts 'to make sure our voices are heard' they would be denounced, justifiably as racists. It is time this practice was ended, and it should be a matter of federal law.

Nor is the usual argument, that this would somehow deny minorities a voice valid in my view. It has already been amply proven that whites will vote non-whites into office. By allowing these partisan, racially gerrymandered districts, are we somehow implying that blacks and Hispanics are more racist than whites?

This strikes me as the typical Leftist bigotry of low expectation, and in any case, it is simply an unjust practice.

Well, there you have it!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

For many years now I have said the State Department needs to be cleaned out from top to bottom. And I’m not alone in that opinion, either. The U.S. Department of State has a long history of working against the best interests of the United States, consistently shilling for all things socialist. Those who have looked into tax-exempt foundations like the Carnegie Endowment, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Consortium, Guggenheim Fellowship, etc., and the subsequent investigation by the Reece Committee, might know what I’m talking about.

The first U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal, once said, “Consistency has never been a mark of stupidity. If the diplomats who have mishandled our relations with Russia were merely stupid, they would have occasionally made a mistake in our favor.”

State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf recently told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews ISIS could be stopped if we could just create jobs for them.

At first blush, for those ignorant of Marxist ideology, this sort of thinking seems preposterous. Well, I am strongly inclined to agree. But I digress.

For dyed-in-the-wool Marxists and their fellow travelers (sympathizers), it makes perfect sense. This is why I believe it so important more Americans gain a better understanding of Marxism—since it is lauded and approved of by so many American universities and the liberal media, not to mention those in positions of power within our own government.

Karl Marx believed our view of history needed to be changed (cf. “hope and change”). Cleon Skousen wrote in his book The Naked Communist about the central importance economics plays in the Marxian religion. Marx believed history should be changed to “a fixed, undeviating, pre-determined course of progress which could be charted in the past and predicted for the future on the basis of a single, simple criterion—economics.”

According to Marx and his votaries, if we could only “level the playing field” by making everyone and everything the same (see “equality and fairness”), it would usher in a veritable utopia, i.e., the long hoped for “workers’ paradise.” Interestingly, about 90 percent of what Karl Marx wrote concerned economics (see Das Kapital).

Well, let’s just get something straight: ISIS doesn’t give a damn about economics—quite the contrary. Their motivations and actions are not influenced by Marxism, per se, but rather the teachings of Muhammad, and a literal interpretation of the Koran and the Hadith.

Although it should be noted that Marxism and Islam have quite a bit in a common.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Graeme Wood in the Atlantic with an interesting piece, What ISIS Really Wants submitted by Bookworm Room . He attempts to present something very rare in today's climate, an examination of the conflict from the point of view of Islamic State.An excellent read.

Here are this week’s full results. Only Bookworm Room and Ask Marion were unable to vote this week, but neither was subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty for not voting:

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks' nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

It’s time to present this week's statuette of shame, The Golden Weasel!!

Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week's nominees were all slime-worthy and disgusting,but in the end the overwhelming winner was....the envelope please...

JoshuaPundit: For his plans to take total control of the internet, make it a utility and hugely expand taxes and fees. And to 'regulate' internet and broadcast content to shut down 'extremist' (AKA conservative, anti-Obama thought) via a 323 page plan he refuses to let congress or the public see.

Yes, Tom Wheeler is definitely one slimy weasel...such people are unworthy to live in a free society.

Well, there it is!

Check back next Tuesday to see who next week's nominees for Weasel of the Week are!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum, and remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher's Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y'know?

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Obama Regime's State Department in action, courtesy of spokeshole Marie Harf:

When even Chris Matthews gets it (sort of), we're in real trouble.

The Obama regime can't even create decent jobs here in America, let alone Iraq. Do these people seriously think we're going to be able to buy off Islamic State?

Then there's the president's new 'war' request,which ought to be voted down, at least at this time. The video above tells us why the sort of mindset that prevails in the White House shouldn't be trusted to manage a successful war.

First, the AUMF Matthews refers to isn't really a declaration of war, just another half-assed 'authorization', and we've certainly been there before.

Second, IS is not anywhere near the imminent threat Iran is, and taking IS out simply delivers Iraq to Iran as part of their goal... a Shi'ite, Iran-ruled nuclear armed bloc controlling both sides of the Persian Gulf and stretching to the Mediterranean. Taking out IS simply removes one more obstacle to Iran, the same way our taking out Saddam Hussein did. Let's deal with Iran first..which of course will never happen with this president.

And finally, based on this president's record as commander-in-chief, do we really want him in charge of creating yet another stupid blunder? Do we want our troops fighting another war and dying because they're handcuffed by his ridiculous rules of engagement? Just today, he insulted the Egyptians and criticized them for bombing targets in Libya after IS killed a number of Egyptian Copts there..whom the Obama Administration in their statement pointedly did not refer to as Christians.

Our president would be challenged running a McDonald's successfully,let alone a war. A loose AUMF that gives him the leeway to play amateur strategist in between golf games is not the answer.

Welcome to the Watcher's Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the 'sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won't be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning

Simple, no?

It's a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?